


Side Stories: Be Forever Yorozuya

by yuzuchacha



Category: Gintama
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Loss, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29135235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuzuchacha/pseuds/yuzuchacha
Summary: They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this 5-year journey. Various side-stories taking place during 2nd movie-verse.Ch. 1 - 'Everyone in the Shinsengumi knows that you're sleeping in my closet anyway.' / Sougo chats with his new tenant.Ch. 2 - He was like the very essence of the White Plague that was affecting Edo. / Zenzou delivers bad news.Ch. 3 - "Gin-san... I'm dying..." / Tae receives a visitor.Ch. 4 - "If I have to choose between disobeying Hijikata-san's orders or annoying you all day, I think I would enjoy the latter more." / Sougo and Kagura make a bet.Ch. 5 - She was like a child who had lost everything that was dear to her. / Kagura comes to terms with a harsh reality.
Relationships: Kagura & Sakata Gintoki & Shimura Shinpachi, Kagura/Okita Sougo, Sakata Gintoki/Shimura Tae, Shimura Shinpachi & Shimura Tae
Comments: 11
Kudos: 42





	1. Shelter (Sougo x Kagura)

**Chapter 1 - Shelter (Sougo x Kagura)**

Summary: _Because it wouldn't matter. Everyone in the Shinsengumi knows that you're sleeping in my closet anyway._

AKA Sougo has a chat with his new tenant.

* * *

Okita Sougo stood in front of his closet for about a full ten seconds before he gave the door a good kick.

"Oi, this isn't a boarding house you know."

In response, a loud knock came from the other side of the door. Not quite satisfied with the answer, Sougo reached for the handle of his closet door. He only managed to slide the door open about two inches, before it was stuck. He caught a flash of red and blue before the occupant had slammed it back shut on him.

A muffled voiced finally answered him from inside his closet.

"Shut up! I'll be gone in the morning anyway!"

A short moment later, Sougo found himself sitting down and leaning against the wall beside his closet door. The sliding door on the other end of his room was wide open, giving him a glimpse of the sky. There was a new moon tonight, so very little light came into the room.

"Why didn't you go running to your boss lady's in the first place?"

There was no answer, and although one may think that the occupant inside the closet had fallen asleep, Sougo had known better. In spite of their differences, he knew the girl well enough to know that she was still moping in silence.

It has been the same pattern every night for this past week ever since she decided to take refuge in his closet.

"China."

"Shinpachi and I decided we'll run the Yorozuya our own ways. I didn't want _anego_ to get involved with our own problems."

Sougo was mildly surprised that she was so forthcoming in answering him. He thought it would take at least another week of bickering before she would share anything. It appears that she's really bothered by everything that's happened.

"So you think it's a better idea to get me involved instead?"

The door rattled next to him, "You're the sadist here! I'm sure you're getting a kick out of this anyway!"

He smirked, "You sure know me well."

"You--!"

"Oi, Sougo!"

The sandy-haired man looked up and saw the Shinsengumi Vice Captain standing on the other side of open door way. The uniform he usually wore was replaced today by a plain black yukata; a half-finished cigarette was hanging from his lips.

"Yo Hijikata-san, sleepwalking this late at night? Better watch out not to choke on your cigarette."

Toshiro scoffed, "I'm sure you'd like to see that happen. If you're going to keep sleep talking to yourself this late at night, you should at least have the decency to close the door."

The dark-haired man stared intently at Sougo's closet door. He muttered something inaudible as he slid the door shut and left. The entire room was now blanketed in darkness. When another full minute had passed, a soft sigh of relief came from his closet. The rattling of the closet door that followed was even louder than before.

"Oi, Sadist! Why didn't you close the door?"

_Because it wouldn't matter. Everyone in the Shinsengumi knows that you're sleeping in my closet anyway. And out of the goodness of my heart, I decided not to tell you or you'll never come back here again. **He** wouldn't have wanted that._

"I didn't think anyone would be up at this time." He replied.

* * *

_"Danna, that's impossible. We don't even get along. Why would she even come to me for help in the first place?"_

_It had been very sudden, when the Yorozuya boss asked to meet with him. It vaguely reminded of Sougo of a similar meeting that happened long ago, back when his sister had still been alive and coming to visit him in Edo. And now, it was the silver-haired man's turn to make his strange request._

_Sougo frowned when Gintoki didn't answer him. It unsettled him that the man sitting before him was so quiet, his strawberry parfait untouched._

_"Danna, are you leaving to go somewhere?"_

_There was a rustle, and Sougo felt a strong, yet weary hand rest on his shoulder._

_"I'm counting on you alright? Thanks Okita-kun."_

_He felt the pat on the shoulder and then there was nothing._

* * *

That had been the last time Sougo (or anyone, as far as he knew) had seen Sakata Gintoki. And just as the latter had predicted, about three months had passed before he found a moping Kagura in his closet one night. He had returned to his room and noticed another presence. When he had opened the door, he stared back at the fierce blue eyes. It was as if she was daring him to start something. He saw her gaze melt into that of surprise when he reached down to grab his second futon (she was sitting on top of his usual one) and slid the door shut without a word.

That had been seven days ago... and every night since, he'd notice her presence in his closet whenever he returned to his room after dinner. She'd only stay inside his closet during the night; it was just a place for her to sleep. And true to her earlier words, she'd be gone in the morning.

The only evidence of her presence would just be her lingering scent that remained on his futon that he kept in there. Although it made him frown, it wasn't unpleasant enough for him to get his closet cleaned out.

"Why are you even talking to me?"

Her voice had broken his train of thoughts.

"Hm?"

As an afterthought, he found his response rather uncharacteristic of himself, but he decided to ignore it.

"I thought you would have kicked me out the moment you found me here, but you just closed the door and left me alone... why did you talk to me all of a sudden after this long?"

Why indeed? When the Yorozuya boss had asked him to help the girl if she ever sought him out, the very fact that he was currently housing her in his closet should have sufficed. Sougo could have just ignored her for however long she wanted to stick around. 

Perhaps, he just hadn't expected find her here of all places; that's why he didn't say anything that first night. There were plenty of places for her to hide in, yet she chose to come here. In the period of time that Sougo didn't say anything to her, he was able to think it over. It was only tonight when he came to a conclusion. That there really was no other place left for her to go--not without being worried over like an orphaned child. This place had been the safest choice for her.

That's why he spoke to her tonight.

"Well?"

Sougo smiled to himself, "I thought you would've appreciated the company."

"I—"

The voice from inside stopped when Sougo got up on his feet.

"Just go to sleep China."

And in the midst of the night while Sougo was "sleeping" on his futon, he heard a soft "thank you" from the other side of his closet. He simply smiled, but decided he would spare his rival the embarrassment by saying anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: I wrote this back in 2016 and posting here for the first time with some minor edits~ 
> 
> So just some backstory about this fic: I actually don't know how or where this idea came about. Originally I was in the middle of writing something GinTae and then this happened. It might have been from watching both the movie and then a random scene in the anime of Kagura in her closet... and then the story wrote itself. The first line that came into my mind was "Everyone in the Shinsengumi knows you're sleeping in my closet anyway," and this happened.
> 
> Anyways, this will be the start of a series of random side-stories depicting different characters' lives in this movie-verse, and they don't necessary have to be related to each other... but we'll see. But being an OkiKagu fan, there will be more of them showing up, I think.


	2. Lamentation (Gintoki x Tae)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this 5-year journey. Various side-stories taking place during 2nd movie-verse.
> 
> Ch. 2 - The change had been instant. Zenzou saw that the man standing before him had turned a very pale shade of white as the words died from his mouth, swallowed up by an inaudible gasp. Perhaps it was the silvery-white of his hair, or the uncharacteristically dark coloring of his cloak, but it made his face that much whiter—like the very essence of the White Plague that was affecting Edo.
> 
> AKA Zenzou delivers bad news.

Hattori Zenzou closed the latest issue of JUMP he had in his hands and placed it besides him.

"You can come in, you know."

The _shoji_ door slid open, and a cloaked man stepped in before sliding the door shut behind him.

It was a small, enclosed room, not meant for huge meetings, but suitable for the current situation. Aside from the low table, the only other thing that decorated the wall was the calligraphy hanging on one of the walls with the kanji "endure"—the same kanji used in _ninja_ or _shinobi_ —written on it. Right in front of him, on the low table, was a beige-colored envelope, about the size of his favorite magazine cover.

His guest took a seat on his opposite side, and took off the straw hat, revealing a head of silvery-white hair.

"Is all that really necessary?" Zenzou asked, eyeing the large golden beads and wards papers decorating the cloak. The last time they'd met, there had just been the wards wrapped around his neck and arms underneath the cloak. This seemed like a little too much. Even the staff he carried looked outrageous.

The other man placed said-staff down besides him, opposite of the JUMP magazine, "I always thought they wanted to make some kind of really bad cultist fashion statement with their outfits, but it appears that it served some purpose. It keeps things at bay, and if I don't take these measures, I'll lose control of my mind and all of Edo would be wiped out in three nights."

Drastic measures indeed... soon enough, he'll have his entire face covered with the same wards judging from the tell-tale curse markings that appeared to be spreading past his jawline.

"Have you found any more leads?"

Zenzou shook his head, "It's nothing that you don't know already."

A sigh, "A dead end again then."

"Pretty much, but that's expected considering that you and your buddies supposedly wiped out every last one of them fifteen years ago. There's only so much information you can get in four and half years. I even collaborated with Sakamoto Tatsuma and the Kaientai like you had suggested so that we could gather information from the other planets—don't worry, he doesn't know you're involved. We've done all we can."

_But it didn't bring an end to their curse._

_People are still dying to the plague._

_Those two idiots are still running around aimlessly._

The silver-haired man sighed as he stood up, "Looks like I'll have to change gears then."

The ninja glanced up at the samurai, "What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to go look for the old man Gengai. I asked him to do something for me last time. I heard he's locked up in prison, so that saves me the time and trouble of tracking him down."

"Wait, Gintoki."

The man, who was about to put his hat back on, stopped in his tracks. He watched as Zenzou reached out to push the beige envelope towards him.

"Here, I think you should see this."

Placing his hat back down again, Gintoki retrieved the item. He hesitated at first, but eventually, he opened the envelope and took out what was inside: a single photograph. Silver brows were furrowed in confusion.

"Who—"

The change had been instant. Zenzou saw that the man standing before him had turned a very pale shade of white as the words died from his mouth, swallowed up by an inaudible gasp. Perhaps it was the silvery-white of his hair, or the uncharacteristically dark coloring of his cloak, but it made his face that much whiter—like the very essence of the White Plague that was affecting Edo.

And now her.

The photograph slipped from the samurai's hand and landed on the table, in front of the ninja. Upon seeing the white crown of hair on her youthful face again, Zenzou was reminded of just how horrible the nature of this disease was. There was no mercy for the young or old, male or female, weak or strong.

"She—when—"

The ninja knew there were so many thoughts and questions running through the samurai's mind right now, and it probably took all that he had from running out of the room, or destroying something.

"Shimura Tae was admitted into the Oedo Hospital a week ago. It appears that she had shown initial signs of being infected three years ago, but because nothing else occurred for a while aside from those couple strands of white hair, she brushed it aside and thought it was just simply due to stress."

_Three years? Was it really that long ago?_

_How could she have been affected for that long?_

"Last week, she collapsed in her home and her brother rushed her to the hospital. She's a rare case since no one has come across a single patient who's lived beyond two months after showing the initial symptoms. It was only within the past three days that her symptoms rapidly advanced to her current stage."

Which was a blessing in disguise. The doctors thought that she might have been the source of the White Plague, or even had resistance towards it. They would have started doing all sorts of experiments and tests on her to find a vaccine or cure. If she hadn't succumbed to the final stages so soon, something else would have probably killed her.

"She is starting to show signs of blindness," Zenzou continued, "She doesn't have a lot of time left."

_No, this can't be._

_Why her? Why? Why? Why?_

"This… it can't—"

He couldn't even bring himself to finish his sentence.

"If you don't believe it, why don't you go to the hospital and see for yourself?"

But Zenzou knew he wouldn't though. After a few seconds, the ninja got up from his seat with his magazine tucked under one arm. His guest probably won't be leaving anytime soon.

"I'll take my leave then."

For how long... no one really knows, but from that room came a loud harrowing cry; one filled with so much agony, grief, and regret. And if anyone had passed by, they would have wondered if someone had perhaps died. They might have thought that whoever the deceased was... he or she must have been very dear to the one whom was in mourning right now.

It's a good thing this room was so secluded.

But to Zenzou, who had stayed outside the door and heard it all... he had thought otherwise.

_"Ah, so this is what a demon sounds like when he's broken and grieving."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: This chapter was inspired by a pixiv fanart/manga that I came across years ago, maybe shortly after the 2nd movie came out. 
> 
> I remember it stood out to me so much and the fact that it was just a picture made it so much more meaningful. I can't even find the right words to describe how I had imagine Gintoki's deep wailing/crying would sound like, but the very thought of it breaks my heart, especially as a scene on paper. I'm actually not 100% sure about the timeline of things, but the movie gave some clues like how victims die in about a month and a half. So in my head-canon for this movie-verse, Gintoki left five years ago to look into the White Plague, and this scene occurs at most two months or weeks before "present-time" Gintoki gets transported into the future.
> 
> 2021 - Still new to AO3 so sorry if some stuff looks weird! May be occasionally editing minor things these days...


	3. Visions (Gintoki x Tae)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this 5-year journey. Various side-stories taking place during 2nd movie-verse.
> 
> Ch 3 - "Gin-san... I'm dying..." 
> 
> AKA Tae receives a visitor.

" _Ane-ue_ , do you want me to brush your hair for you?"

"It's okay Shin-chan, I'll just wait for Kyuu-chan to help me with that. I know you're not too good with these sort of things."

"Ah… sorry."

Tae smiled as she reached a hand out towards her brother. Immediately, Shinpachi took a few steps forward and leaned his body towards his sister. Her fingers felt cold and frail against his cheek, and the young man recalled the many times he felt her touch. He remembered how these very same hands were once always warm. There was always a perfect balance of gentleness and firmness to her touch, which defined Shimura Tae so well, the daughter of a dojo master and a cabaret hostess. There was still that gentleness... but it wasn't quite the same anymore.

"Thank you, Shin-chan. I know you're busy with your own things, but you're spending so much of your time taking care of me."

Shinpachi covered his older sister's hand with his own, "You're my sister. Of course I would take care of you."

The white-haired ( _"They were brown before."_ Shinpachi would bitterly remind himself) woman dropped her hand and allowed it to rest over her stomach.

"So how is Kagura-chan doing? I haven't seen her for a few days."

"She looked fine the last time I saw her," Shinpachi answered after a pause, "I heard that her father's visiting again and she had asked him to help her with some training."

Tae frowned, "I hope that the guys aren't giving her too hard of a time. She's still just a girl after all."

Shinpachi smiled, "You worry too much _ane-ue_. There's nothing to worry about. She's safe with those guys."

"But with Kondo-san being arrested—"

" ** _Ane-ue!_** "

The siblings looked at each other in shock; both of them were surprised by the younger Shimura's sudden outburst.

" _Ane-ue,"_ Shinpachi gritted out as calmly as he could, but anyone can tell that he was far from calm by the slight shaking of his frame, "Hijikata-san will keep things in order for now, so please..."

He looked down at his feet, willing himself not to shed any tears today, "Please, just worry about yourself. Please focus on your health for now."

The next moment was silent, and Shinpachi focused on evening out his breaths. To stay in control, and not show his sister how badly he was being affected. To make sure that she has nothing else to worry about.

"Okay."

Shinpachi looked up at his sister who smiled serenely at him, "I'll do just that Shin-chan."

* * *

"You have such a sweet younger brother Shimura-san!" The young nurse in charge of her exclaimed as she closed the window, "He's always visiting you."

The older woman smiled, "Even with other people visiting me, he still worries too much."

"There are many people who are supporting you, Shimura-san," The nurse gave her shoulder a gentle pat after tucking her in. "You have to give it your best!"

"I will."

"Alright Shimura-san, as always, just call us if anything happens. I'll turn off the lights now. Good night!"

Tae nodded and thanked the nurse before closing her eyes. What transpired earlier with Shinpachi was still in her mind, and Tae found herself starting to reflect a lot on several things. She knew her brother was blaming himself, even though he had no part in causing her illness. When she was first diagnosed with the White Plague two weeks ago, everyone else around her took the news really hard. It was almost as if they had received a death sentence for themselves, and only Tae herself took the news calmly.

A part of her reasoned that it might be because she had suspected it all along—that she had the White Plague. It was three years ago, when she spotted a few strands of white hair amongst her brown locks. She hadn't thought much of it, but a part of her deep down had probably known. Another part of her simply knew that if she allowed herself to be depressed over this, it would only cause the people around her even more pain. They were already in enough pain ever since Gintoki had disappeared.

_It's been a long five years..._

She didn't remember falling asleep. It has been a few hours perhaps, but Tae found herself waking up from her slumber when she felt a slight breeze. This detail had caused her to frown; the nurse had closed the windows before tucking her into bed, so someone must have came in. Another breeze came in from the window—

_This scent._

"G-Gin-san?" The shaking of her own voice surprised her, "Is that you?"

She heard a slight noise to her right, in the direction of the open window. She could make out that someone was standing there, but her deteriorating vision made it difficult to make out any features, especially with the lights out. In spite of her waning strength, Tae tried to get up into a sitting position. Just as she propped herself up with her elbows, she felt a hand on her left shoulder.

Aside from just her movements, Tae felt that her breath had stopped as well. When she finally gave in and laid back against the pillows, the same hand shifted and rested on her left cheek. It wasn't her brother's hand, or the nurse's hand, but it was still a familiar hand. It was a large, calloused hand—the hand of a samurai—but it was also very warm, and very gentle. She could feel her own tears welling up in her eyes.

 _"It's him."_ She concluded, " _It's Gin-san. He's alive. He's here."_

However, the fact that he hasn't spoken a word yet had troubled her. It made her question whether or not her mind was playing tricks on her. Or if this was a hallucination or dream.

* * *

"Gin-san?"

He didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything. The very sight of her on the hospital bed, with her hair was as white as snow and her skin paler than he ever remembered; it had rendered him speechless. The moonlight from behind him only make her visage all the worse. Only her eyes remained the same, except she could barely see him. The doctors did say that she was starting to lose her vision.

"I know it's you, Gin-san. Why aren't you saying anything?"

_I can't._

"Gin-san, why did you leave?"

_I had to._

"Gin-san, those two... Shin-chan and Kagura-chan... They're trying their best, you know. They couldn't agree with one another, but they both want the same thing. They miss you."

_I know._

"And I miss you too."

 _I..._ He couldn't bring himself to finish his thoughts.

"Gin-san..."

His breath was caught in his throat at the sight of her tears spilling from her eyes. Some had fell on his hand that was still on her face.

"Gin-san... I'm dying..."

He closed his eyes, unable to hold back his own tears.

_I'm sorry._

_I'm sorry._

_I'm sorry._

* * *

_"Otae..."_

_Her eyes widen in shock. Just hearing **his** voice. There was a sensation of something wet falling on her cheeks aside from her own tears, which added to her surprise._

_"I promise you. I'll fix everything."_

_"Gin-san..."_

_"Just wait alright? Everything will be alright."_

_His warm hand rested on her forehead now._

_"Sleep."_

When Tae woke up the next morning, she noticed that the windows were shut. As she fingered her tear-stained cheeks, she wondered to herself whether last night's encounter had been a reality or a dream. But whether it had been real or not, she knew in her heart that Gintoki was alive and still out there somewhere.

_"Gin-san, I'll wait for you..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Sorry that it was so fragmented. I just felt that adding too many descriptions would take away too much from the dialogue. Most of these chapters started off as a bunch of dialogues (this chapter was built around the semi one-sided conversation between Tae and Gintoki) and I'm just trying to fill in the blanks with details and some semblance of a story line. I apologize for all this angst—a light-hearted chapter will be coming next. 
> 
> 2021 - Just some minor minor changes to the original version :3


	4. Kami-gata (Sougo x Kagura)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this 5-year journey. Various side-stories taking place during 2nd movie-verse.
> 
> Ch. 4 - "If I have to choose between disobeying Hijikata-san's orders or annoying you all day, I think I would enjoy the latter more."
> 
> AKA Sougo and Kagura make a bet.

_kami-gata (髪形・かみがた) : hairstyle_

* * *

"Did you put a wig on today, China? Your hair's longer. You showing signs of baldness like your old man already?"

The sound of a pair of chopsticks snapping resounded in the room, as all other noise had abruptly stopped. Kagura had mentally berated herself for not tying her hair up in her usual style before heading to the dining hall. Instead, she had opted for brushing the tangles out of her hair before settling down at her usual seat for breakfast.

The girl took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down as she placed her broken chopsticks down. She turned towards the instigator who sat across from her and smirked at him.

"Did you look into a mirror recently? You're starting to look like your sister with your longer hair. Are you in mourning again?"

There was a choked sound from her left, but the girl ignored it. Okay, maybe that last comment was a bit too much on the thoughtless, insensitive, tactless, should-not-have-said-that category, but Kagura's pride wouldn't allow her to admit that she was wrong. There were some people who would have just called this pride of hers sheer stubbornness though.

Hijikata Toshiro would have called it sheer stupidity. That is, if he weren't so busy trying to dislodge the piece of fish bone from his throat right now.

And it seemed like her little jab did work a little bit, just from the look on Sougo's slightly irritated face, but he too tried to maintain his deadpan tone. It wouldn't do for him to back down so soon after he started this round.

"You know, if you're trying to increase your sex appeal, I don't think you're going about it the right way."

"Oh yeah? Is that what you're trying to do yourself? Perhaps you should work on your personality first!"

"Would you two just shut up already?"

Without missing a single beat, the both of them turned their heads (and wrath) and glared towards the former Shinsengumi (because "Makotogumi" still sounded so foreign to them) Vice Captain who finally found his voice to yell at them.

"There are people trying to eat here."

Immediately, the other men who sat quietly ever since Sougo first spoke, all turned back to their meals and resumed their usual chatter.

When the two decided to just glare at each other over the table, Toshiro sighed and decided to just enjoy his Hijikata special breakfast set (which consists mayonnaise-topped rice, mayonnaise-topped mackerel, mayonnaise-topped pickles and mayonnaise-topped miso soup). As long as nothing gets destroyed, he'd gladly just sit back and not intervene.

He still made sure to keep an eye on the two of them. Especially their newest resident.

Six months had passed since the girl from the Yato tribe started staying with them—nine since Sakata Gintoki disappeared (they couldn't bring themselves to admit that he was probably dead). For the first month, she mostly hid in Sougo's closet when she needed a place to sleep after spending a whole day out doing her "Yorozuya duties". It was probably one of the Shinsengumi's worst kept secrets. Whether it's out of respect for the missing Sakata Gintoki or fear of their Vice Captain (or First Squad Captain), everyone just pretended to be ignorant of what was going on.

Things changed soon after their own leader, Kondo Isao, was arrested for reasons they no longer want to dwell upon.

Along with the outbreak of the White Plague, many of the rich, including the Shogun and his family had fled from Earth. The Bakufu had been taken over by a rival group and since then, Edo was no longer the same. The current Bakufu cared more about their own securities and lifestyle than what goes on outside their castle walls. The Shinsengumi no longer had the support and power they once had. They even had to leave their compound, and relocate their residence to an abandoned dojo. Abandoned because the previous owners had fell due to the Plague.

But with all this chaos going on in Edo everyday, they still didn't want to give up their duties of protecting the citizens. So now, they're just a rag-tag bunch of vigilantes who call themselves the Makotogumi, and their job was not _all_ that different from the Joui Patriots (whose leader was also arrested). Due to their current circumstances, Toshiro had even stopped threatening everyone to commit _seppuku_ for breaking the _Kyokuchuu Hatto_ , but he still reverted back to his Demon Vice Captain ways every now and then where their training and overall conduct was concerned.

This environment almost reminded some of the senior Shinsengumi members of the older days when they still lived in the countryside.

A lot has certainly happened in the past six months, so much that Kagura and Sadaharu had became semi-permanent members to their group—no point in hiding anymore since they were the Makotogumi now—so much that both Kagura and Sougo had neglected things like cutting their hair. Kagura's hair reached past her collar bones, while Sougo's hair does somewhat resembled his sister's albeit a little longer. In fact, aside from Toshiro, many of the other members haven't had the time to go visit the local barber shop for a haircut. Some of them even felt the unkempt look suited their new image.

"So," Toshiro spoke after he finished his soup, "Are you still planning to go to the terminal today?"

Kagura, resumed eating her breakfast, a new pair of chopsticks in hand. "Papi says he'll be arriving sometime this week. I should at least be there to update him with what's been going on."

"Sougo, you should go with her. Maybe get a haircut on your way back or something."

The girl slammed her chopsticks down, careful not to break them this time, "I can take care of myself!"

"Well," Sougo smirked, "If I have to choose between disobeying Hijikata-san's orders or annoying you all day, I think I would enjoy the latter more."

Everyone winced when they heard the cracking sound which sounded louder than that of breaking chopsticks.

"You Sadist!"

"Ah!!! Hold up the table!! My Hijikata special breakfast!"

* * *

Kagura fingered her red strands that fell from the pigtails she secured on each side of her head with her usual hair ornaments; her attempt at another hairstyle.

"Papi always told me that I looked exactly like Mami. I only remember her being sick all the time, but she was really beautiful and had really long hair."

Sougo was walking alongside her about several meters away with Sadaharu trailing between the two of them as they headed towards the terminal.

As usual, the streets weren't too crowded. Many were too afraid to step out of their homes due to the White Plague. No one knew exactly how it spreads, so no one wanted to take any chances of being exposed out of their homes. Of course, there were always the occasional troublemakers, who took advantage of the semi-anarchy state of Edo—another reason for people to stay indoors.

"Never pegged you as the sentimental-type."

"Hmph! I was talking to Sadaharu, you eavesdropper."

It was a lie, but Kagura didn't want to elaborate. She had woken up from a dream and realized that she couldn't remember what her mother looked like anymore. It caused her quite a panic this morning that she had barged out of Sougo's closet (she still couldn't break out of that habit of sleeping in someone's closet) and locked herself in the bathroom. For a good hour she just stood there, staring at her own reflection in the mirror, touching her hair.

Perhaps it was her visit to Otose's last night and the entire hour she spent there not talking to Shinpachi that made everything so bitter. Perhaps all this loneliness was catching up to her again, and the dream just made it worse.

"There's nothing wrong about wanting to remember."

Kagura stopped in her tracks as her eyes locked onto the man who continued walking. After walking a few steps ahead of her, he stopped and turned towards her.

She was about to speak up but stopped when she saw a several figures ahead of them, several meters away from Sougo. The latter didn't miss the slight narrowing of her eyes and he had turned around. There were some thugs, all wearing masks and carrying various weapons.

"Looks like Hijikata-san wasn't wrong to worry after all."

"Hah? This is hardly something to worry over."

One of the thugs, a masked man with a ponytail pointed at them, "Boss! Those are the two kids who messed with us yesterday!"

The boss, who was also masked and sported a mohawk, stepped forward.

"You two sure have a lot of nerve to disrupt our trades."

"Trades?" Sougo turned towards Kagura, "Hey, China. Got any idea what they're talking about?"

"All I remember was beating up a couple of overgrown idiots bullying an old lady for her money."

"Oh, that's right! I remember that black eye then, I gave that to you."

"You!! You'll pay for this!"

And for the next few minutes, the two fell back into the familiar pattern of fighting side-by-side. This was something they seemed to be doing rather often as of late ever since Toshiro had been pairing them up when sending out groups to help patrol Kabuki-cho. So when trouble like this comes along, they put their differences aside to put their opponents in their places.

They were now down to one opponent each, Sougo facing the boss, and Kagura facing his right-hand man. In the back of her mind, it was a bit of a let-down seeing how this place has deteriorated so much that these sort of people are causing all sorts of trouble. Nine months ago, these people wouldn't have the gall to do something like this. Then again, nine months ago, Kondo Isao, Katsura Kotarou and Sakata Gintoki were still around; they wouldn't have allowed this to happen.

Kagura shifted to the side just as her opponent's knife sailed towards a vital point on her head. Although she had dodged the knife, it managed to knock one of her hair ornaments off, along with a good length of one of her pigtails.

"China!"

Sougo delivered a swift kick to his opponent's stomach, the impact had caused the leader's body flying into her opponent's, sending them both into a wall of an abandoned store. Quickly shoving her loose hair from her face, Kagura jumped back, pointed the end of her umbrella towards both enemies and fired at the spot above them. This caused the awning to collapse on their fallen enemies. It was then, when the reinforcements, lead by Yamazaki, finally arrive. They quickly went about rounding up the other thugs and started tying them up.

The Yato-girl slumped to the ground, her umbrella fully opened once again to shield herself from the sun's rays.

She glanced up at Sougo who crouched down besides her. Their eyes met.

"Hey China, instead of a haircut, let's have a bet and see who can grow their hair out the longest."

Kagura frowned, "Don't I have the advantage?"

Grinning, the man rested his chin on his hand that was propped onto one knee, "Well, seeing how the guy did chop off some of your hair earlier, I'd call it a handicap rather than an advantage, you're probably destined to lose a lot of your hair like your father."

"Fine!" The girl barked back, "Loser will have to be a slave for the winner for a whole month!"

Dropping his hand, he extended it towards her, "Two."

Kagura grasped his hand, "Deal!"

She felt the other hand giving her a tug and pulling her back up on her two feet. The Yato girl turned her head over her shoulder as she brushed the dust off the back of her outfit. The action caused her just-cut hair to fall in front of her face again, which irritated her a bit.

"Hey Sadist," Kagura brushed her hair to the side again, "I can't find my hair ornament... did you see it?"

"No, but it's not like you'll even need it anymore. Unless you need it to cover up a bald spot."

Yamazaki looked in Kagura and Sougo's direction as they continued towards their destination. He recalled seeing the aforementioned object earlier. When they were rounding up the troublemakers, he had seen Sougo picking it up and tucking it into the folds of his yukata. Perhaps the former First Squad Captain was planning to use it as blackmail material, which wasn't surprising, considering that it's Okita Sougo.

"Forget it, just shut up already!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little break of sorts from the angst, there will be plenty of angst though... I think.
> 
> Also, Kagura's "current" hairstyle in this chapter would be similar to the one during the fake Timeskip arc but a bit shorter (which featured Bakaiser-Sougo). And this would chapter would kinda explain her asymmetrical hairstyle with one of her hair accessory-things for the movie, except I kinda forgot that she does change her hairstyle later on... so I made up a scenario in my head on how she eventually gets it back, so there will be a chapter dedicated to that, eventually.


	5. Ohaka-mairi (Kagura-centric)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They never thought of going their separate ways, and this is where their paths will lead them on this 5-year journey. Various side-stories taking place during 2nd movie-verse. 
> 
> Ch. 5 - She was like a child who had lost everything that was dear to her. 
> 
> AKA Kagura comes to terms with a harsh reality.

_ohaka-mairi (お墓参り・おはかまいり) : grave-visit_

* * *

"Oi, Granny..."

A few people flinched from the tone of the Kagura's voice. Gone was the usual jubilant, child-like ring. Instead, it had been replaced by a voice of contained anger just waiting to explode just like the overcast skies that blanketed the area. Shinpachi, who stood several feet away from her, vaguely recalled those few times when the younger haired girl sounded like that. He understood her current feelings all too well because he felt the same too.

He stared ahead at the spot where everyone had gathered around just as Kagura started speaking again, voice raised.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Otose pulled her pipe away from her lips and exhaled a plume of smoke.

"It's Gintoki's gravestone. What else does it look like to you?"

And instantly, everything seemed to explode.

**_"YOU OLD HAG!"_ **

Had it not been for Tama and Catherine standing protectively in front of their boss lady, or Toshiro holding Kagura back, the latter would have probably made sure that the older lady had exploded into bits by now. Shinpachi was surprisingly calm, thanks to his older sister's presence who provided some comfort for him. If not, he would've voiced his tumultuous feelings by now.

"You're giving up on Gin-chan! How could you?!" Kagura screamed, while kicking her legs out since the man behind her was hauling her back by both arms. If she hadn't lost grasp of her folded umbrella during the struggle, she would've made good use of it right now.

"Oi, Sougo! A little help here!" Toshiro grunted, his cigarette nearly slipping from his lips. The younger man was leaning back against a tree, but he showed no desire or intention to move, or to even speak. He simply stood there observing, just like the few other Kabuki-cho members whom Otose had invited to come here today. Only Tae moved to make an attempt to placate the younger girl, once she was sure that her brother wasn't going to join in on the mini-riot. Yamazaki too had moved in closer, having taken the hint from the glare that his Vice Captain was directing towards him.

"You think I _want_ to do this?!" Otose yelled back, angrily waving her pipe, which caused its contents to fall out.

"Then why? Why are you doing this?!"

Kagura could feel her face flush even more in anger as she let out several expletives. She felt her anger towards Otose for doing such an insensitive thing, towards Toshiro who was holding her back, and towards Yamazaki who was making an attempt to grab her legs before she could uproot the other gravestones in her rampage. She felt so much anger at the others around her who weren't joining her in yelling at this horrible old woman.

But most of all, her anger was towards the gray slab of stone that was mocking her.

_I should've have known..._

As well as the name on said-stone (and the one who owned it); it was mocking her as well.

_Why else would they all be here right now?_

The older woman sighed, "It's only the right thing to do, stupid girl!"

The girl opened up her mouth to say something, but she stopped when a body walked past her. Everyone watched silently as Sougo crouched down in front of the object that angered Kagura.

"Here you go, _danna._ "

Kagura gaped at the carton of strawberry milk that was placed right in front of the gravestone. She felt Toshiro releasing his hold on her since she had stopped struggling. Dropping her arms to her side, Kagura looked up and glared at Sougo who now stood in front of her.

"You knew about this already didn't you?" She spat, loathing this man more than she ever thought possible, "Otherwise, you wouldn't be carrying a carton of strawberry milk with you."

The girl looked around, noticing the dark attire that most of them were wearing, "Everyone else knows right?"

She was the single sore thumb that stood out with her red hair and red clothing. Even Shinpachi wore a dark color today, and she felt betrayed more than ever. What she didn't know was that Shinpachi hadn't known about the nature of Otose's invitation either; his sister was the one who urged him to forgo his usual attire today. The red-haired girl turned her attention back to Sougo.

"He's not dead."

Despite her anger at everything, her voice came out in a strained whisper. 

"If he returns, we can just look back at this and laugh about it like a bunch of idiots."

Sougo looked up when he felt the first few drops of rain wetting his face. Bending down, he picked up the forgotten purple umbrella and opened it up.

"But if he really is dead," Kagura reflexively raised her hand to catch her umbrella by the handle when he pressed it against her shoulder, "Then we should pay him the respect that he deserves."

And with that, Sougo had excused himself and left. When the rain started to pick up, several others had left after they had finished paying their respects to the newly erected gravestone. Some of had promised to return next time with more people from Kabuki-cho; others promised sweet offerings. Eventually, the only ones left were Otose, Catherine, Tama, Shinpachi, Tae and Kagura herself.

No one bothered to check how much time had passed before they heard a sob. Their downcast eyes turned towards the girl in red whose eyes were now drawn to the ground, and her body shaking with every sob. The sobs grew louder and louder. At one point, she had raised her head with her umbrella tilted back and continued bawling and wailing up towards the sky. And this was the first time they all heard Kagura crying so hard. She was like a child who had lost everything that was dear to her.

Another sob had joined her when Tae could no longer hold back her own tears. Even Otose, Catherine and Shinpachi joined in with their tears and hiccupped crying. Only Tama, who stood there watching them, didn't cry since she was incapable of doing so. But to any outsider, the droplets of rain that slid down the robot's face could have passed for tears as well.

* * *

"Couldn't you have been a little bit nicer?" Toshiro asked from his spot under the weeping willow which helped to provide some shelter from the slight downpour. The dark-haired man momentarily glanced towards the direction where Gintoki's grave now stood. He couldn't see them from where they stood due to the number of trees, graves, and just the general way the cemetery was designed, but he knew that a few of them have not left Gintoki's gravestone.

They could still hear a distant crying of a young girl.

"Why? She wouldn't have wanted my pity anyway."

Toshiro looked at the white flowers that Sougo left in front of a gravestone in front of them. His gaze softened at the beloved name that was etched on the cold gray slab.

_Okita Mitsuba_

"Hijikata-san, even if she's not here to yell at you, I'd greatly appreciated if you didn't smoke in front of my sister's grave."

"It's not even lit."

Even so, Toshiro found himself removing the cigarette from his lips and pocketing it. Satisfied, the younger man turned around and smiled fondly at his sister's gravestone.

" _Ane-ue,_ if you see _danna_ , please make sure to give him a good beating for all of us."

Toshiro found himself sharing the same smile, "We'll visit again soon."

With a final glance towards the direction of the other gravestone they were visiting just several minutes before, the two men left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely angst on all-levels, even down the last scene (which was a last minute addition that came out of nowhere!). Sorry ;_;
> 
> Also, I apologize for the name inconsistencies... I noticed I only use first names for some characters like Kagura, Sougo, Gintoki... but then I switch to last names for characters like Yamazaki, Kondo, Katsura >_< As for Hijikata, I kinda swich between Toshiro/Hijikata~


End file.
